Understanding the responsibilities of a property manager

Property managers are hired to manage the daily operations of a rental property. It is an important role that comes with a range of responsibilities. This article offers a brief overview of those responsibilities.

Much of the work of the property manager involves such issues as lease management, maintenance of living spaces and communal areas, rent and security deposits, managing evictions, and handling move-ins and move-outs. Implicit in these responsibilities is the requirement to keep and maintain thorough, up-to-date records.
Tenant and third-party management

Several key responsibilities of the property manager involve dealing with people. These duties include finding and screening tenants. Property managers also supervise third-party employees on the property, including the concierge, and make sure construction and maintenance workers at the building complete their work satisfactorily.

A crucial aspect of the property manager’s role is ensuring compliance with all applicable rules and regulations. This includes applying and renewing a licence to operate a house of multiple occupation (or HMO), if this is required. There are specific standards to which rental property must adhere. These cover such health and safety issues as fire, electricity and other hazards within the property. They also extend to pest and vermin control, unblocking drains and ensuring the property is supplied with hot water and utilities.

These regulatory responsibilities were extended in May 2018, as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force. While this is not specific for landlords, there are some provisions that do apply, as part of the landlord-tenant relationship requires holding and processing personal data.
The importance of organisation

As you can tell, this is a wide-ranging role, which requires strong organisational skills. As such, many property managers use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to help them stay on top of all their duties. For example, property management CRM, such as that provided by propertydeck.com/, can help managers maintain a database of all their properties and important documents. It can also help managers meet their regulatory duties, such as GDPR compliance.

Effective property management means satisfied landlords and tenants, as well as ensuring regulatory compliance. Failure to satisfactorily carry out the role can lead to significant problems, so it is important the manager is clear on their responsibilities from day one and is confident they can carry them out professionally.